


Three Rings

by sceawere



Series: 'These Moments' Verse aka John OC Family Verse [5]
Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: Birthday, Childhood Sweethearts, Drunkenness, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 17:51:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21019814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sceawere/pseuds/sceawere
Summary: Prequel to 'These Moments'. John proposes to his girlfriend on her birthday.-“Polly, listen, you can batter me in one fucking minute, I promise, just let me do this first”He moved over to you, swiping his hair back nervously before dropping to his knee.“Oh, what the fuck”“Jesus Christ”“Johnny, what-“A cacophony of voices rang out as he descended to the ground, and your brain started to seize up at the sight.





	Three Rings

**Author's Note:**

> Set after 'School Days' and 'Sister-in-Law' but before the events of 'These Moments'.  
Originally posted in 2017.

You and Ada stumbled along the street, arms linked and singing.

“You sound like warbling cats” John complained, ambling behind you.

“It’s my birthday! I can sound how I fucking want!” you screamed out into the night, the large amount of whisky flowing fast in your veins.

Ada doubled over in laughter and you swung around to stand in front of her, looking back to where the lads were trailing behind you.

“Johnny, come love me!” you threw your arms wide, calling to your boyfriend.

He pulled the pick from his mouth and walked over to you, smiling all the while. He wrapped his arms around your waist and bumped his forehead against yours.

“Hello” he mumbled, and your grin grew.

“Hello”

“Happy Birthday”

You laughed, gripping his coat at the lapels.

“I’m nearly a grown-up now!” you bounced.

“Hardly”

You frowned, trying to maintain focus. “Shut up!”

“You gonna act like one?”

“Not bloody likely” you grin returned as you nuzzled at his nose.

He flicked his eyes between both of yours, then up to the sky as the church bells rang out.

“Ooh! Wait, how many is that?” you questioned, eyes whizzing around the dark sky.

“I’m counting, be quiet” your boyfriend replied, brow furrowing as he kept a mental tally.

“Why do I ha-uhhuhu”

John had lifted his palm to cover over your mouth, keeping his eyes up in the sky, squinting a little as he listened intently to the distant peals.

“Uh, don’t lick my hand. Disgusting” he frowned at you.

“Uhuhhhuuhhuh”

“You’re making exactly as much sense as you usually d-ooh! Fucking biting!” he whipped his hand away, flapping it in the air. His other hand kept grip at your waist and you swung softly in his grip.

“You like when I bite”

“Shut up”

“No, I distinctly remember you-“you leant into his neck.

“It were three rings” he informed you, and you brought your head back quickly.

“Three?”

“Three” he confirmed.

“Oh! I’m nearly an adult. Quick, I have to do something!” you decided in a panic.

“Do what?”

“I don’t know! Say goodbye to my childhood or something. Stop laughing, no! This is the last few moments, I won’t get to live these again. I should have planned what I was going to do better, Johnny. Johnny, quick, think of something to do” your hands flapped.

“Come down here” he hooked his arm in yours, moving you both quickly down the street.

“Come- where, where are you taking- ADA, JOHNNY IS KIDNAPPING ME!” you tottered after him in your heels.

“I’m taking you home, quick”

“Why? No, Johnny! Not yet!" you argued, wanting to stand by the vow to stay out until sunrise on the morning of your birthday.

“If I do this without Pol, she’ll never forgive me. Come on, get moving” he frowned, hurrying you through the shadows.

-

John was almost dragging you both along the street, your hand linked with Ada’s who was tottering behind you.

“What the hell’s got into him?” Ada questioned, almost turning over her ankle as you tried to navigate the step of the curb.

“I don’t have a bloody clue, Johnny-“

He shushed you, pulling out his pocket watch and checking it for the 30th time that journey.

“Two bloody minutes, right, come on!” he commanded.

He fumbled with the keys, ushering you both into the house.

“Polly! Polly Polly Pollllll! And all the rest of your bastards – up and at ‘em come on!” He slammed his hands on the staircase, drumming a beat.

“John, shush, they’ll batter you!” you implored, waving your hands to try and lower his voice somehow.

“They can once I’ve done. Here”

He was breathless as he grabbed both your hands, moving you into the middle of the room. The slam of doors against walls and grumbles of different tones came from up the stairs. Feet slammed down and Arthur was the first one through, knife in hand.

“Someone better be fucking dying or I’m going to do it myself, how about that?” his brother grumbled.

“Arthur, shut up. Just for two more minutes, yeah?” John pointed to his brother, then turned back to you, his breathing as rapid as yours.

“What the hell is happening?” Tommy appeared, and the oldest brother turned back to eye his arrival.

“You tell me, Tommy” Arthur shrugged, rolling the knife in his grip.

“I’m so sorry, I don’t know what’s got into him” you shook you head, throwing a confused look to your boyfriend, who was moving his weight from foot to foot.

The room was becoming increasingly small as everyone spilled down the stairs and into the room, Polly the final one with a sleepy Finn stumbling after her, wiping his eyes.

“Right, I am going to-!” she began, but John cut her off.

“Polly, listen, you can batter me in one fucking minute, I promise, just let me do this first”

He moved over to you, swiping his hair back nervously before dropping to his knee.

“Oh, what the fuck”

“Jesus Christ”

“Johnny, what-“

A cacophony of voices rang out as he descended to the ground, and your brain started to seize up at the sight.

“Listen, fuck. I wrote a whole thing in my head but I forgot it, so fuck everything. Listen. I love you. I fucking love you. Since I was this high and Polly caught me nicking her rings to give you” he waved his hands around as he barrelled through his words.

“You nick-what?” You flicked your head to Polly, who was holding one hand against her chest, the other to her mouth.

“Fuck that, it don’t matter. I’ve been waiting for so bloody long to ask you this fucking question and now I’m pratting about with-you’re 18 now, and you’re a grown up and you can tell me ‘yes’ or you can tell me to piss off. But I can finally ask, so I’m going to – will you marry me?”

The room about fell out under your feet. Ada shrieked a little and moved to your side when John pulled a ring out of his pocket, gripping your arm so tight she nearly cut off the circulation. You felt it jolt up a little at her movement but you stayed stock still, staring at him.

“Wha-wh-ar-yo-mar-fuck” your brain fully gave up.

You heard a laugh from one of the boys, probably both of them but you couldn’t break your stare.

“Love, put the bloody lot of us out of misery and tell the boy your answer” you heard Arthur say.

You nodded your head, bewildered.

“Is that…you nodded…were you saying yes?” John asked.

“I-think so”

“You think so?”

“I’m honestly…not sure what’s happening right now”

“He’s proposing, sweetheart” Polly explained, and you squinted at her.

“He’s fucking proposing!” Arthur agreed, jubilant, a wide grin over his face.

“He’s…proposing what?” you questioned.

You looked between Polly and Ada.

“Marriage”

“Mar-oh. Well, yes” you spun your head back to him, nodding frantically.

“Yes as in yes?”

“I-“

“She’ll bloody marry you!” The eldest brother shouted.

“Arthur, please, don’t shout” Polly chastised him, and he raised a hand in apology.

“You’ll marry me?” John asked once more.

“Yeah” You nodded again, not sure if you were still breathing or not. John stood, grabbing hold of you and yanking you from Ada’s grip. Everyone clapped when he kissed you and you jolted back into reality.

“Fucking hell, I’m getting married” he blurted out once you pulled back from one another, grinning.

“About bloody time, too. Come here” Arthur pulled you in, giving you a big hug “Welcome to the family proper, eh?”

You smiled back at him as Tommy took his place.

“Congratulations”

“Thank you, Tommy. I’ve really sorry about the wake up”

“No, no. Not for good news” he waved off, clapping his brother on the shoulder.

Polly clipped John round the ear before taking your hands and you both smiled at each other so wide you thought your face might break.

“Welcome home, sweetheart” she offered.


End file.
